Functional genomics approaches to a primate model of autistic symptomology.

Meuret et al. (2001) sketched a plan. They said: take brain tissue from monkeys and people. Look at which genes are on or off. Map those patterns to autism traits.

The paper is only a roadmap. No lab work. No kids tested. Just a blueprint for future science.

Nothing yet. The team did not run an experiment. They only wrote a wish list for others to follow.

Pugsley et al. (2024) picked up the roadmap and drove it. They checked real autism-linked gene bits in real human brains. Result: no clear signal survived the stats. The 2001 dream met hard data and came up empty.

Bravo Balsa et al. (2024) tried a different lane. They scanned living adults and found a flicker in the right temporoparietal junction that tracks trait severity. Same goal—find a brain fingerprint—but used wires and magnets, not gene chips.

Harada et al. (2011) also went living-brain. Their MRI showed less GABA in the frontal lobe of autistic people. Again, the 2001 tissue plan moved from autopsy slab to clinic scanner.

The paper tells you why today’s biomarker hunt feels slow. Every shiny new brain scan or gene panel started as a sketch like this. When a new genomic test lands on your desk, ask: did it survive the Kealan check? If not, keep your wallet closed.